How to Avoid Sun Poisoning

Sun Poisoning: Even Worse Than Sunburn

Whether you skipped the sunscreen because you wanted a tan, or you actually wore it but forgot to reapply, now you're left with an awful sunburn. As you take a closer look, you notice parts of your skin appear blistery, and slightly yellowish in color. That's not just a sunburn, it's sun poisoning, and it's even more damaging to your skin. Not only does it cause a painful rash, but symptoms also include fever, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, chills, and headaches. The area may swell and the blisters can open and lead to infection.

Sun poisoning is your skin's reaction to UV rays, and just like an irritating sunburn, the rash usually results in itchy, peeling skin, but eventually goes away on its own within 10 days. That's good to hear, but there's bad news too. To hear it, read more.

The more extreme UV exposure your skin gets, the more your skin is damaged, and the bigger your risk is for developing skin cancer. So you want to prevent sunburns and sun poisoning at all costs. Make sure to avoid long hours in sunlight, especially from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Always slather yourself with broad spectrum sunscreen that has an SPF of 15 or higher whenever outside. It must be applied 30 minutes before you head out, and reapplied every two hours. If you're especially sensitive to sun, wear a hat and lightweight clothes to cover your skin, or just enjoy the shade under an umbrella.

I believe I've gotten sun poisoning. I got a 2nd degree sunburn all over my legs and feet and then i got cellulitis and had to go to the hospital to get a shot and now I'm taking 8 antibiotics a day. My advice to everyone.. don't be in the sun for 7 hours when you have ginger skin without protection from the sun. I was literally cooked.

4 years

To the comment below, i dont tan when i have sunscreen on, period. i wore spf30 makeup and just lotion on my body (im extremely pale skinned) and my body burned but no color whatsoever to my face. some people cant tan at all.
im afraid i may have sun poisoning, but my skin is not yellowing, its turning a purple/dark maroon color and its blistering. i have odd looking rashes on my shins, it looks like the blood is coming to the surface. are these doctor-seeking symptoms?
i get freckles too during the summer, some cluster right above my upper lip so it looks like i have a mustache :P

5 years

There is no such thing as sun poisoning. People who experience blistering, nausea, chills and fatigue are just suffering from a severe burn (blistering means it's a 2nd degree burn). Poisoning implies foreign toxins introduced into your system. How did the sun introduce toxins into your system? Magical toxin rays?

I unbuttoned a button on my shirt once in the heat and forgot to apply sunscreen to the little exposed triangle of skin. Everywhere else I was covered by sunscreen and clothes, but that one spot on my chest was burnt to a crisp. I had those horrible weepy blisters come up, and then come up again, five times before it stopped. That skin has never been the same, and that one bit of skin looks ten years older than the rest of me, despite years of using products on it to try to protect and heal it. There was one benefit to the whole accident, and that was that I became fanatical about applying sunscreen.

Fortunately I've never experienced sun poisoning, but I did have a scary reaction to the sun once after using the complimentary hotel lotion (turned out to have retinol in it). My skin didn't burn much, but it did get swollen and very, very itchy. The itching was unbearable!

Yikes. I have been that red before. And in exactly the same area. Get the picture off my profile Fit? ;)
I think at some point in my life I had gotten sun posioning, but probably brushed it off as heat sickeness. I've had the terrible itching, the nausea, the chills (funny since it's a freaking burn!) and dizzines.
I try to avoid heat sickness and sub burn by staying hydrated and applying sunblock SPF 30 and over with UVA and UVB protection. i've got burned one too many times already and don't like dealing with the after effects.

I got it at a dock concert once in high school and it hit my ears and shoulders... I got terribly sick and was alone in the house for an extended period of time. So scary. The skin on my ears got stuck to my pillow. I'll never forget that lesson!

I had it once when I was a kid. I had gone swimming with no sunscreen on and my nose and forehead got so fried. My nose swelled up and blistered and oozed fluid. Now I have a little age spot there, so I guess I'll always remember that little incident.

That sounds terrible! Luckily I have never experienced it. I have very fair skin, but it's not really sensitive to the sun. It actually tans, and in the worst case it gets a little red, even when I'm out without sunscreen for a considerable amount of time. But I almost always wear sunscreen anyway.

I've had bad sun poisoning a couple of times when I was younger and both times I was wearing SPF 45 and reapplied several times. When I was younger, my skin was so sensitive to the sun that I couldn't be outside for more than an hour at a time even with high SPF. As I've gotten older my skin has become much less sensitive but I still make sure to wear at least SPF 15 out of habit.

I did once on my face. It swelled up and my forehead actually oozed when I touched it.

5 years

My complexion is very fair, and I have FRECKLES galore in the summer time. Unfortunately, I also get severe sun poisoning every summer too. I use one of the highest SPFs (50-60) and re-apply often, but nothing works. It's terrible. I usually have to sit under an awning or an umbrella, and I always have to wear light weight clothes. I have experienced sun poisoning so severe that I was bed-ridden for 7 days, and blistered for about 2-3 weeks with a painful itchy rash. Blehhhhhhhhhh!

ONCE in my life and I've since learned my lesson aobut sunscreen!!! to this day if i take a really really hot shower, i can see the 'tan lines' from that one particular sun burn/sun poisioning.
seriously, my skin was red, then MAGENTA, and these little white blisters showed up five days later or so. disgusting, painful, not ever worth it. ruined my carribean vacation to say the least, as it was the first day there!!!

No, thank God. I've always been sensitive to the sun, as I have very fair skin. My skin hurts when I'm under the sun for any prolonged period of time, and I seek shade or shelter. I've never under the sun long enough to be sun-poisoned, as my skin discomfort motivates me to get out of the sun.

5 years

I get a rash everytime I go out into the sun called polymorphous light erosion, which is an allergic reaction to the sun. Even if i'm only out for a minute or two, i get a red rash with raised white bumps that's warm snd itchy and lasts for days. No moisturizer or anti-itch cream helps at all. Sunscreen seems to allow me a little more time in the sun, but it has to be a high spf and needs to be reapplied every hour or so. It's a nightmare -- I can't go out in the sun without paying for it later.

That picture isn't real sun poisoning. I got it as a kid and my chest swelled up into one huge blister. It took months for the damage to go away. Thank God for Palmer's Vitamin E Cocoa Butter.

5 years

I had sunpoisoning once as a kid - it was awful. We were on vacation and, though my mother had put sunscreen on me, it may have been expired because it was like I had no protection at all. The next day I had blisters all over and my eyes were swollen shut. I could barely move. And then when it started to peel, I looked so creepy. Now I stick to the shade and re-apply, re-apply, re-apply.